There was a lot in the last ten to fifteen years that hardly anyone would have credited a studio as small as Daedalic with. For example, the Hamburg-based company almost single-handedly lifted the adventure genre out of the long-overgrown grave – at least in German-speaking countries. An achievement not to be underestimated. Whether it released the 2008 Edna breaks out was or the almost legendary Point&Click game series landfill, Daedalic can create a cult. In addition, the constantly growing studio has also been trying to play the role of publisher since 2015. Almost 100 games were published, the greatest international success being the one developed by Mimimi Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun. But of course the heart of the Hamburgers still beats for their own productions. The current one is the biggest, most difficult and most exciting Daedalic has ever worked on: the action-adventure The Lord of the Rings: Gollum (buy now ).
After a number of worries, mixed gameplay impressions, a lot of criticism and a few postponements, the time has now come: The triple A game from Germany will be released on May 25, 2023 – the date is not that far away.
We were invited to Hamburg to Daedalic and were allowed to play two missions from two different chapters and thus take a detailed look at the adventure. The action-adventure showed two such different faces, it’s almost absurd how precisely (and randomly) Daedalic meets the personality split of the protagonist – symbolically, of course. Will Gollum be able to bear the burden of the first Daedalic blockbuster game or will he break under the burden? We’ll clarify it in our final preview.
Source: Daedalic Entertainment
Gollum’s Strength: The Story and His Character
It’s almost as if every highlight of Sméagol’s life has been covered extensively in The Lord of the Rings or The Hobbit. There is actually still a lot of exciting story material! For example, the long-term imprisonment of Gollum, who became the involuntary and tortured servant of Sauron and Shelob. Or his time with the Wood Elves in Mirkwood, related to his first encounters with Gandalf and Aragorn. So there are enough interesting moments that Daedalic would like to process in a story frame of 70 years. Thus, the time span in which the action-adventure takes place is between the “Hobbit”, i.e. the story about Bilbo Baggins, and the beginning of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.
This not only promises variety and plenty of fodder for Tolkien fans, but also a thrilling story – a strength of Daedalic, as is well known. In doing so, the universe was dealt with in detail and worked together with real Middle-earth experts in order to plant the many free fields in Tolkien’s mega-epic in a meaningful way. Events that are only hinted at in the books or films are allowed to blossom and thrive in the brand new Daedalic game – promising, but of course our little insight is not enough for a final judgement.
Source: Daedalic Entertainment
So back to our gaming session: In a mission from Chapter 3, Daedalic focuses on the promising narrative aspect of the adventure. As the involuntary servants of Sauron, we find ourselves in Barad-Dur, the dark tower and center of power of the evil ruler. We explore the interior and listen to conversations and the voice of the so-called “Candle Man” while discovering a multitude of loving Tolkien details.
In the further course it is our task to create new scouts and thus more eyes for Mordor. A breeding station serves as a small puzzle in which, similar to a classic adventure, we have to combine various actions and room objects with one another, which causes new birds to hatch. It wasn’t particularly challenging or original in terms of play, but it was precisely the human and sympathetic aspect of Gollum that did it for us here. For example, if the protagonist is acting out his overprotective side with a little chick, Daedalic knows how to show it despite the outdated animations and graphics.
Daedalic promises an in-depth look at the main character’s fragmented personality alongside an accurate depiction of the world. This is particularly evident when Sméagol and Gollum fight over our next action. We not only have to choose one side, but also convince the other side of our project!
